Track fiddler This was extremely interesting to me. Something I never knew. A deluxe train car was built for Abraham Lincoln. This car was equivalent to Air Force One we have today. Abraham Lincoln never got to ride in his car. He was shot the day before in the theater by John Wilkes Booth. Sadly his wife Mary Todd Lincoln lost her way and needed help to the extent of a Sanitarium. From what I understood, years later a dear friend resurrected Abraham Lincoln and his son from the grave to ride in the car that was built for him. He said this car was built for Abe. He will ride in it dead or alive.
A deluxe train car was built for Abraham Lincoln. This car was equivalent to Air Force One we have today. Abraham Lincoln never got to ride in his car. He was shot the day before in the theater by John Wilkes Booth.
Sadly his wife Mary Todd Lincoln lost her way and needed help to the extent of a Sanitarium.
From what I understood, years later a dear friend resurrected Abraham Lincoln and his son from the grave to ride in the car that was built for him. He said this car was built for Abe. He will ride in it dead or alive.
The car in question is a recent (though incredibly accurate) reproduction. The original car was eventually owned by Thomas Lowry, president of the Twin City streetcar line, who brought it to Minneapolis. Lowry was born in Illinois, and when he was a boy Lincoln was his father's lawyer and friend. Unfortunately, the original car was destroyed in a prairie fire in 1915 IRRC.
The original car was designed for the use of the president, but it's true Lincoln didn't ride in it while alive. After the assassination, it was used to bring his body (and the exumed body of his young son, who had died in Washingon DC a few years earlier) back to Springfield IL for burial.
BTW Robert Todd Lincoln, the only one of Abe's children to survive to adulthood, eventually became president of the Pullman company after the death of it's founder, George Pullman.
wjstixBTW Robert Todd Lincoln, the only one of Abe's children to survive to adulthood, eventually became president of the Pullman company after the death of it's founder, George Pullman.
Didn't know that. I'll trade you.
Pullman employed former slaves as sleeping car porters. Whatever their names were, they were routinely called George. You can see that practice persisted as late as 1934, when William Powell in the Thin Man, calls the porter George. Netflix it, it won 3 academy awards.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
I was never into history much when I was young.
I am now, Thanks this is interesting.
Track fidler
The Docks!
Yes the docks! I haved lived near this area my whole my life.
This time when I visited Duluth. I really wanted to see what I really wanted to see.
I had to drive up and down highway 35W where you need to exit and go down under the docks. I had'nt been to Duluth for 23 years. After two times up and down the highway and exiting the highway three times. I got the exit Strait.
I was feeling like I was doing something wrong but I wasn't. To be honest with you I felt like I was sneaking around heading under the docks. I just had to see them.
Then to my surprise this was not a restricted area, it was an observation area. The CN guys coming back to work were waving at me.
I saw tourist boards like you would see in a National Park. Huh!
Okay that'll work.
This post didn't work please delete
Old wood docks from way back. I gathered this picture for you. Thanks
Track Fiddler
P.S. Got to admit, I am getting better at this.
Whoops forgive me, I almost forgot the dock.
That's all I got but I like this locomotive too.
P.S. I really like how this picture does Justice to the nose.
Styx
Thanks for sharing. I know some of what you said but not all.
Still holding down the fort in Shakopee I Hope.
I'm a big fan of that great big grain elevator, Rahr.
Im sad that chicken Wing Diner across the street went under. We liked going there and we're friends with the owners. We enjoyed the art songs recipe and the big wings!
Take care
P.S. I understand they're planning to do a 63 million dollar expansion to Rahr.
It's your town. If you feel free........I think you should share the details.
I always like seeing the trains all jammed up around there waiting to get in
Gary
I wish I would have known there was a 2-8-8-4 in Proctor while I was up there. I would have turned off. I must have seen that Proctor sign a half dozen times on the way back to my hotel by Spirit Mountain.
Take a picture for us if you would Gary.
No idea what street we were on, but I remember back in the late 1960's when I was a kid we had to drive under the DMIR ore docks to get to the right street to go up the hill to Hermantown where my sister lived. That was before they tore out a lot of the downtown rail lines to run the interstate through. Her husband was chief engineer for WEBC radio in Duluth for about 10-15 years in the '60's-'70's; eventually they moved over the Superior side so he could be closer to the transmitter located southeast of town. Then to get to her house, we had to drive by the BN (GN-NP) ore docks, so that was still fun.
IIRC, they built a viewing platform for viewing operations on the ore docks in Duluth, but then after 9-11 closed them or at least wouldn't allow people to take pictures during times when an ore boat was docked there. Not sure if that's still in force?
p.s. Track Fiddler...as I mentioned a couple of weeks ago in a thread, I've still never lived in Shakopee. I'm about 20-25 miles east of there, near Hastings MN / Prescott WI.
Oops I must have had you mixed up with somebody else.
I take a short ride to Prescott periodically in the summer to sit on the deck at Scabs overlooking the BNSF lift bridge. A good place to watch the double stackers go through.
Thanks for posting
Getting under the ore docks was the most exciting part of my Duluth trip. Either it's not a good conversation piece or the weather's nice everywhere and everybody's enjoying themselves outside.
Let's move on. I never seen a mail car, nor ever been inside of one. The door was like Fort Knox, maybe that has something to do with the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid thing.
I certainly wouldn't want the job of sorting all that mail and getting it to where it goes.
Hail to the postal workers.
Found a few more pictures. I got in the neighborhood of a hundred twenty five of them.
I was a little sad about the docks didn't bring a little more attention. I waded through the weeds and got Burrs on my jeans to take a closer picture for everyone. I like it.
I've been to the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, and they have a mailcar, it was fascinating, and looked like it was fully functional, and ready for service.
The docks had to be an awesome experience, the massiveness of the structure, had to be overwhelming.
The closest I've been to docks is in Ashland, WI. , and I think the docks are gone, but the base area was to be redevoped for other uses.
Great pictures you have shared.
Mike.
EDIT: The link I had to the Ashland dock project didn't work, but anyone that is interested can find it here:
https://www.coawi.org/city-departments/planning-zoning-development/current-projects/
My You Tube
Thanks for sharing Mike I found your site interesting.
The first night we were in Duluth it was 94 degrees and humid. We spent an enjoyable night down by the Duluth Harbor Park Point area. Had a lot of fun.
The next morning I watched the Cloquet weather which is very close to Duluth. They said 94 and humid again.
We put on our shorts and tank tops and headed down to the Duluth Depot to tour the museum and take a train ride. I learned very quickly that day you better get your weather straight.
The wind shifted and was coming off Lake Superior. The high in Duluth was 53 that day. We shivered a little bit but I'd much rather be a little cool then hot and clammy. Living near International Falls for a big chunk of my life I can weather the cold.
Prior to dusk the fog started rolling in. It took a while to drive out of it that night until we got enough up the hill to where it wasn't foggy anymore. Looking down at it looked really cool.
Here is some images of the fog rolling in before it got too thick.
Thanks for looking.
P.S. Our waitress where we had dinner that night said she lived about 10 minutes up the hill. It was 94 degrees at her house. A 41 degree difference from home to work.
You got to love bridges. Duluth certainly has them. Such incredible superstructures.
Sometimes I think if I had life to live over again I'd be a civil engineer in light of my love for bridges. Then again I've heard engineering and architecture careers can be very stressful.
Here is a discontinued railroad trestle and truss bridge that is now a walkout observation.
With this shot I gave the boxcar a hat......... enjoy.
Evening Forum Guys.
Although I have a boatload more pictures, I might as well put a cap on the end of this Duluth trip thread.
Nothing better than a red caboose. Except for an off red wooden caboose.
This one has a special place in my heart. The DW&P (The Peg) a subdivision of the Canadian National Railway. A small railroad that ran from Fort Frances Canada to Duluth Minnesota.
P.S. For a great history summary, Google Duluth Winnipeg and Pacific American rails.com.
I used to ride the school bus from the Kabetogama State Forest to Orr Minnesota everyday, which was about an hour and 15 minute bus ride with all the stops.
I would see the red and blue DWP locomotives out the bus window to and from school every day. Delivered with pride it said underneath. I did not know it was Duluth Winnipeg and Pacific till years later.
I took my time taking this picture thinking it could be blown up and framed. I thought it would make a nice picture in the layout room........ feel free
On the way out of Duluth we went through Wisconsin to go visit Mom to make her chicken enchiladas and spend the night.
Shortly after I left Minnesota I put on the brakes and turned around on a gravel road. My wife asked me what are you doing. I replied I found the perfect place to eat breakfast. The Superior Trackside Diner! The Choo Choo it was called. The breakfast was good too.
BigDaddy wjstix BTW Robert Todd Lincoln, the only one of Abe's children to survive to adulthood, eventually became president of the Pullman company after the death of it's founder, George Pullman. Didn't know that. I'll trade you. Pullman employed former slaves as sleeping car porters. Whatever their names were, they were routinely called George. You can see that practice persisted as late as 1934, when William Powell in the Thin Man, calls the porter George. Netflix it, it won 3 academy awards.
wjstix BTW Robert Todd Lincoln, the only one of Abe's children to survive to adulthood, eventually became president of the Pullman company after the death of it's founder, George Pullman.
The practice lead to the formation of the SPCSCPG, the Society for the Prevention of Calling Sleeping Car Porters George. The name cards came about AFTER this group was formed, mostly as a joke, but many well-known people named George were members.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_for_the_Prevention_of_Calling_Sleeping_Car_Porters_%22George%22
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I knew about Pullman porters being referred to as "George" due to George Pullman - it was in "Roots II" or whatever the follow-up to original Roots TV mini-series was called. Alex Haley's father or one of his grandfathers was a Pullman porter, and when he's starting work one of the other porters explains to him that when a traveller called "George" it meant him.
Track fiddler I used to ride the school bus from the Kabetogama State Forest to Orr Minnesota everyday, which was about an hour and 15 minute bus ride with all the stops.
FWIW my great-aunt was Postmistress (as they used to call female Postmasters) in Orr MN at one time. She and her husband both worked for the post office in Minneapolis, and when he retired she still had a couple of years to go to get a full pension, so she took over the postmaster job in Orr (near where they had their summer cabin). It was only for a year or two as I recall, they later moved to the then (circa 1960) new retirement community of Sun City AZ.
How you doing Styx?
That's cool your Great Aunt worked at the Orr post office. A lot of people have never even heard of Orr. I attended Orr high close to three years and and graduated there. That was long after your great-aunt had work there and retired.
Small towns are unique I'll tell you. There's an old saying "Mind your P's and Q's Buster" If you did something good or bad the whole town knew about it in 15 minutes. That was also true where I lived near Frostbite Falls (International) Lake Kabetogama State Forest.... Voyageurs National Park
The only time I went to the post office in Orr was when I registered for the draft. Our closest post office where we lived was in Ray Minnesota.
I had mentioned this many months before in a thread on the Forum here. The original Orr Depot was moved up to Ash Lake and failed as a bar supper club. The funny thing is they moved it back to Orr again and is now a restaurant with really good food. That's the way it was fifteen years ago anyway.
I've been looking for a Duluth Winnipeg and Pacific locomotive and caboose. I would see them the whole time I lived up there. They are rare and very hard to come by. Such a small railroad that existed. Atlas and Kato doesn't exactly mass produce that. From what I understand Atlas did do a small run of them at one time. I'm keeping my eyes open.
Thanks Styx .... I hope all is well in Prescott
PS.... Just curious what lake your aunt had her cabin.